Chapter 8
Eight
Dani didn’t expect what lay on the other side of the elevator doors.
She’d imagined the blank slate of the oneiromancy department, all shiny chrome and angelic white light.
Instead, they stepped into what could have been a common room in a university dorm, only with a million dollars thrown at it.
To the left, there was a Ping-Pong table, a giant zen garden with sand and a full-size rake, and an actual rock-climbing wall.
On the right, there were coworking desks, hammock chairs, and tables set into recesses in the floor.
There was a counter against the far wall, complete with an espresso bar and a barista who was busy scrubbing the sink.
Perfect, Dani thought sarcastically. I can get a job here when I graduate.
“So,” Dr. Rodriguez said. She turned to face them, backing a few steps away as she stretched her arms out to either side. “These are the research labs. Well, this is just the lounge. The actual labs are down there.”
Three hallways spoked off from the room they were standing in, with people in white coats crisscrossing in between.
No one was actually using any of the amenities, and as Dani watched, a sense of unease settled over her.
There was something off about the employees, but she couldn’t pinpoint it.
Maybe it was how quiet they were, or how none of them would meet her gaze. The atmosphere was oddly subdued.
“It’s shift change right now,” Dr. Rodriguez went on. “Our studies go around the clock, so we have three full shifts.”
“How many studies are you running?” Oliver asked.
“Right now, we’ve got the last few studies for the new product wrapping up, along with a study of interactions between OneiroLabs products and other common pharmaceuticals, and another that has to do with delayed circadian rhythms. Max, is there anything you’d like to add?”
“Oh.” The young man seemed startled to be called on. “Sure. We always have three major studies going at any given time. Once the clinical trials for the new product are done, we’ll move a new project into the vacant space.” He gestured toward the hall on the far left.
“Any ideas what might be up next?” Dani asked.
“I’m afraid we can’t discuss unannounced projects,” Dr. Rodriguez said quickly, giving her a tight smile.
“Of course,” Dani said, aware she was running out of time.
She was uncomfortable exploiting her ability this much, but she needed to wedge a couple more questions in so she could at least tell Silva she’d tried.
“But the new product—can we talk about that a little bit more? You said you were finishing up the trials. Any potential side effects that a consumer might need to worry about?”
“Not at all,” Dr. Rodriguez said, with some effort. “Every product we make is derived from plant-based sources. There’s nothing in our formula that could harm someone—in fact, it’s just the opposite. It works with your brain chemistry, not against it.”
A whole bunch of word salad, in Dani’s opinion. Dr. Rodriguez’s resistance was ironclad.
“Presenting it at the gala doesn’t mean it’s ready for distribution, though, right?” Oliver chimed in. “It’s just, like, an early announcement?”
“Exactly,” Dr. Rodriguez said. She greeted someone passing by. “It’s about getting investors and the public excited for what’s to come. Plus, it’s a way for us to muster support for large-scale manufacturing, which we hope to start in the spring.”
Dani had a hard time believing they didn’t already have the funding they needed, but whatever. That part was irrelevant. “Is it difficult to manufacture?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t call it difficult, per se—but it is complex.”
“How so?” Dani pressed.
“There’s a short window of time during which the product can be manufactured. I need to find a way to widen that window, or to speed up the process while maintaining the accuracy of the product’s effect.”
Blotches of red leapt up in Dani’s mind like a rash. She nodded as she scribbled, pretending she understood perfectly. “You said the formula was plant-based,” she said. “Can you say more about what goes into it?”
“Sorry, but no,” Dr. Rodriguez said. She seemed flustered by how much she’d divulged and was clearly trying to pull back. A light glaze of sweat shone on her forehead. “That’s proprietary information and our CEO is quite protective of it.”
“Are we going to meet him today?” Oliver asked.
Dr. Rodriguez laughed at that, but there was a hollow quality to it.
“I’m afraid not. He’s out of the country.
If you plan to attend the gala, perhaps you can get a quote from him there.
Anyway—” She glanced at the clock on the wall, and Dani realized that she was about to make her escape.
They’d gotten a little information out of her, but there were still a few questions left on the list. Dani didn’t want to go back to Silva without something good—something worth one hundred and fifty more dollars.
She decided to try something she’d never done before: to actively override someone’s resistance to her ability.
“Just one more thing,” Dani said. She dropped her gaze down to her notebook and picked the first question that swam into view. “Are you guys worried at all about an information leak ahead of the gala?”
As she spoke, she imagined a tide of moonstone-colored pigment flooding the words and breaking like a wave against Dr. Rodriguez’s aura.
It took real effort—she could feel new pathways in her brain forming as she concentrated—but as she imagined the opalescence permeating the woman’s very being, Dani saw something go slack in Dr. Rodriguez’s expression, a piece of the fight going out of her.
“Of course,” she said, a newfound note of placidness in her tone.
Dani’s heart squeezed. She’d done it—but the victory left a sour taste in her mouth and an oil-slick brown in her brain.
“We’re always aware of the possibility of a leak.
But we have top-of-the-line security throughout our entire building, and no one can handle data about the new product unless they have the highest level of clearance. ”
“Dr. Rodriguez,” the security guard said, cautioning.
His voice did the trick, breaking Dr. Rodriguez out of her momentary compliance.
Meanwhile, Dani was dutifully writing everything down, though she didn’t know what good this information would do Silva.
She felt a little disappointed in herself—perhaps she’d asked the wrong question. But it’d been on the list, so …
Dr. Rodriguez shook her head like she was chasing away a gnat.
“Well,” she said, tone back to normal, “I’m afraid that’s all I have time for today.
It was lovely to meet both of you, and if you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Max will show you around the labs a bit more if you like. Have a good day!”
Without giving them time to respond, she maneuvered around and hit the up button for the elevator. The doors opened immediately, and she stepped in with a wave. After a moment, Oliver turned to Max with a friendly smile.
“So,” they said. “We can see some of the labs?”
“Sure,” Max said, though he didn’t look thrilled. “Not the product trials, obviously, but I could show you one of the others.”
“Please,” Dani said. She was still coming to terms with what she had just done. She felt pretty icky about it, but she forced herself to focus on the task at hand. “It would definitely help us get a fuller picture. For the article, I mean.”
“Of course. Right this way.”
Max guided them through the onslaught of scientists and down the hallway to the right.
Unlike the lounge, the passage was austere, with light rising from seemingly within the floor.
It gave Dani a purgatorial vibe. A single door on the right wall awaited them.
Max lifted the badge hanging from his lanyard and scanned it on the quartz panel near the handle.
The crystal lit up, and the door whirred in response.
“This is where we’re studying the interactions. ”
He pushed the door open and waved them through—all but the security guard, who assumed a stoic position against the wall. “He’s not allowed inside, except during an emergency,” Max said, answering Dani’s unspoken question as the door closed behind them.
“But we are?”
Max shrugged. “Dr. Rodriguez said you could, and what she says goes. Anyway, this is it.” He gestured without much passion, and Dani could see why.
With the Imagination Workshop still fresh in their minds, this room felt a little drab in comparison.
White-coated employees stood in front of microscopes or Bunsen burners, while others used pipettes to coax out metallic liquid from petri dishes and deposit droplets into test tubes.
A network of transparent pipes crisscrossed the ceiling over their heads, buoying various objects on an air current within; Dani noticed that the pipes descended at several points around the room, likely so employees could send or receive materials without having to leave their station.
“Not much to see here, honestly,” Max said, “but this is what the day-to-day looks like for most of our researchers.”
“Do you like it?” Oliver asked. “Working here, I mean?”
“It’s a dream come true,” Max said, but the phrase had a rote quality to it, like he was rattling it off automatically. “I mean, it’s what I’ve worked toward my whole life. I interned here during college, when they were making DreamRite, and it was … incredible.”
Dani pretended to inspect a poster about laboratory safety. “But it’s not anymore?”